So, the family and I went to Washington, D.C. last week, and I would call it a vacation–except there’s nothing relaxing about dragging three children through the streets of Washington, D.C. to view all the historic sites.

But, it was a learning experience. And, on the last day, as we toured the U.S. Capitol, I learned that we have a long heritage of conflict resolution in this country–and that made me proud. As we were listening to our tour in the Rotunda, I couldn’t help but notice all the amazing paintings that hung on the walls. And, one of particular interest was the presentation of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress.

Our guide proceeded to tell us that most people mistakenly think this was the final draft–but, that this particular draft was debated heavily and NOT adopted by Congress, after all. A later draft was adopted nearly a month later–on July 4th.

She told us how foreign the concept of compromise was to the original Founding Fathers. After all, they had only known rule by monarchy. And, she made sure to tell us how difficult it must have been for a group of delegates to come together and agree on such an important document since they would have had no practice with compromise and representative government.

So, the fatigue, the aching feet, the tantrums–all were worth it. We learned a lot about our government–and about our roots.

Britt